This Dark Endeavor

CHAPTER FIVE

The famous Dr. Murnau from Ingolstadt arrived at the chateau the following day.

I’d expected someone dignified and gray-haired who would emanate knowledge and quiet confidence. But this fellow was surprisingly young-he couldn’t have been more than thirty-and he looked like he needed a doctor himself. I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone so thin and pale. His fingers were positively skeletal. Behind his dusty spectacles his watery eyes appeared permanently startled.

He was to stay with us at least a week, and Father had given him one of the turret rooms, with an adjoining parlor to use as his surgery and laboratory. As his carriage was unloaded after breakfast, I counted no fewer than six trunks, no doubt filled with all sorts of chemicals and apparatus.

Father said Dr. Murnau had lectured at the finest universities and was widely thought the best, and most progressive, healer in Europe. If anyone could devise a cure for Konrad, it would be him.

He spent a full hour examining my brother, and the whole time Elizabeth and I paced the hallway outside-when we didn’t have our ears pressed to the door. When the doctor finally emerged, he actually gave a little jump of surprise when he saw us.

“So. What is your diagnosis, Doctor?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t have one yet,” he said in a nasal voice.

I blinked in surprise and disappointment, for the other doctors had needed no more than twenty minutes to make their decisions.

“I’ll have to conduct many other examinations,” he said with a nervous smile. “After lunch I’ll bleed him. Now, if you’ll excuse-”

“He’s already been bled,” I said, thinking of the useless Dr. Bartonne.

“Yes, so I understand,” replied Dr. Murnau.

“It did no good,” Elizabeth added. “Only weakened him further.”

Dr. Murnau nodded so vigorously that his glasses slipped down his nose a bit, and he pushed them back with a bony finger. “Don’t worry. Listen, I know there are many doctors who put great store in bleeding, but I’m not one of them. It’s completely useless. You might as well-I don’t know-chant druidic incantations.” He gave a strange little titter of laughter. “But when I said I’d bleed your brother, I only meant I’m going to take some of his blood-to study.”

“Study?” Elizabeth said with a frown.

“Exactly.” He licked his lips. “Just a small quantity, mind you. Now, there’s some reading I really must do.”

And with an awkward bow he left us alone in the hallway.

“What do you make of him?” I asked Elizabeth.

“Apart from the fact he’s clearly insane?” she said.

“What can he learn from Konrad’s blood?” I wondered. “Except that he needs it in his body to live!”

“There is something ghoulish about it.”

“He’s like a vampire,” I said.

When I’d first heard about Dr. Murnau, I’d felt hopeful-and more than a bit foolish. This man had spent years of his life studying, practicing his discipline. And here I was, with books of alchemy, seeking out a legendary elixir of life.

But now that I knew of his outlandish plans-to study blood! — they seemed even more fantastical than any tome of ancient spells.

The next day we would return to Mr. Polidori, to see what success he’d had translating the Alphabet of the Magi.

“I have made progress,” Polidori said, ushering us into his musty parlor.

“That is excellent news!” said Elizabeth.

Once more the three of us had come into the city with Father and secretly made our way to Wollstonekraft Alley. Polidori had greeted us eagerly.

“So you were able to translate the alphabet?” I asked.

“It is a devious thing,” he replied, leading us to a table covered with books and parchments. “Not all the alphabet could be recovered. And it is no simple matter of substituting a letter of our own alphabet for each arcane symbol. No, no. It’s an ever-changing cipher, you see, and every twenty-six letters, the meaning of the symbols alters completely.”

“Good Lord,” exclaimed Henry, “then how can you discern the meaning of the next characters?”

The alchemist wagged a finger. “The clues, you see, are implanted in the previous transcription, and from there you must riddle out the rest. As you might imagine, this is time-consuming. And even when one has a small triumph, what is produced is an archaic form of Latin that necessitates a further translation-”

“But you have made progress,” I prompted.

“Oh, indeed. I have translated the preface.”

“Just the preface?” I said, and felt myself sag in disappointment. Why would he waste time with the preface? I never read prefaces. Skip the preface and move on to the meat of the thing! Curled near the hearth, Krake the lynx gave a low purr and stared at me, as though chiding me for my impatience.

“In the preface,” said Polidori, “there is important information. Agrippa tells us there are three ingredients.”

“Three is not so many,” said Elizabeth, sounding encouraged.

“And,” said Polidori, smiling at us, “just last night I discovered the first of them.”

“You have the first ingredient!” I cried in delight. “That truly is excellent news. Well done, sir! Do you have it here?”

“Unfortunately I do not, young master.”

“Do you need us to purchase it elsewhere?” Elizabeth asked helpfully.

“There is no apothecary that will sell this,” said Polidori. “Come, and I will show you.”

On the table a great volume lay open. “Here it is. Look,” he said, pointing to a colored engraving.

“It is a fungus, or lichen, of some sort,” I said.

“Very good,” said Polidori. “A lichen. Usnea lunaria.”

“It is beautiful,” said Elizabeth.

The engraving had been rendered with painstaking detail. The lichen was a brownish-gray, its complicated filaments as delicate as lacework. I stared at the image a long time, trying to memorize its shape, color, and texture.

“It has healing properties, then?” Henry said.

“It is a toxin,” Polidori replied simply.

“A toxin?” Elizabeth said in alarm. “You mean a poison?”

“Yes, but a poison to destroy other poisons,” Polidori said. And then he must have seen the uncertain look on my face, for he added, “Healing is a complicated business. To heal, sometimes we must harm the body, but hope that the overall effect is beneficial.”

“It is true,” Henry said to me. “I remember your father saying arsenic was sometimes administered as a curative.”

“The dose is critical,” Polidori said. “And Agrippa is very specific about it. Let me worry about that. Right now our first task is to procure the lichen.”

“Where does it grow?” Elizabeth asked.

“It is a tree lichen,” said Polidori. “I once collected it myself, but”-he waved a hand at his withered legs-“that is no longer possible.”

“Where do we find it?” I asked.

“We are most fortunate. It can be found not half a day’s ride from here. Throughout the year it migrates across the trunks of the tree to follow the moon. Not surprisingly, it grows at the summit of only the tallest trees.”

“The tallest trees are in the Sturmwald,” I said.

I knew the forest well, since it rose from the steep hills behind our chateau in Bellerive. The trees that tended to thrive there were strong, for in winter they were racked by terrible winds. Some had reached great heights, and were said to have been growing since before the time of Christ.

“I have here a map,” said Polidori, producing a piece of paper so many times folded that it was almost in tatters. “I kept it, you see, in case I ever had need of the lichen again. You will see here some landmarks to help you on your way. On the actual tree where I found the lichen, I cut a blaze in the bark, but there is no guarantee it will still be seen. It was many years ago, before I lost the use of my legs.”

I glanced again at his legs, and thought how I would hate to have that freedom taken from me.

“Thank you,” I said, placing his map carefully inside my pocket.

“It will not be easy,” he said. “Though the lichen needs the moon to live, it can only be seen on the darkest nights.”

I shook my head, not understanding.

“It must be the exact same color as the bark on which it grows,” said Elizabeth, looking at the engraving.

“Exactly so,” said Polidori. “Even in the moon’s full glare you will not be able to discern it. But in the darkness you will see it.”

“How can this be?” Henry asked.

“It exudes a very pale glow,” said Polidori. “But you must make sure there is no moonlight whatsoever. That is how you will find it.”

“How much must we gather?” Elizabeth asked sensibly.

Polidori passed her a glass vial padded in leather. “This should be ample.”

I looked at Elizabeth and Henry in turn. “Well, it seems simple enough,” I said jokingly. “We must navigate the Sturmwald in total darkness, find and climb the tallest tree, and then, at the summit, discover the lichen.”

“Have you seen the trees of the Sturmwald?” Henry said to me. “Many don’t even have branches until they are fifty feet high!”

“You will certainly need rope,” the apothecary said.

“How can one climb a tree in total darkness while holding a lantern?” Henry demanded. “Two free hands are needed!”

“Dr. Polidori has done it, and we can do it too,” said Elizabeth, her eyes flashing angrily at Henry.

“But your friend is right,” said Polidori. “Climbing a tree at night is a tricky business. A torch would set the tree alight, and a lantern is too cumbersome. I have something that may be of even greater use.”

He passed me a thick padded wallet.

“What is this?” I asked.

“The ingredients for a simple compound. I would mix it for you myself, but its potency is brief and the mixture must be used within twelve hours of being prepared. I have written instructions inside. And it will make your nighttime journey much easier.”

I saw Elizabeth and Henry look at me uneasily.

“Does this involve the devil’s works in any way?” Henry asked.

Polidori laughed. “Good sir, neither the devil nor the angels have any part in my work.”

“What exactly does the mixture do?” Elizabeth asked.

“It gives you,” Polidori said, “the vision of the wolf.”

When we returned home from the city, I was passing Dr. Murnau’s rooms and saw the door to his laboratory ajar.

I stuck my head in and could see no sign of the doctor. But on a long trestle table was a great array of apparatus, and among them an open box filled with metal needles, glinting in the light. There was a whole row of them, of varying lengths. As if drawn, I stepped closer. The needles were hollow, their points more wickedly tapered than a serpent’s fang.

My eyes traveled over the table to a long rack that held six slim stoppered vials of ruby red blood. In shallow round glass dishes still more red fluid rested. Konrad’s blood. It was everywhere.

I felt a chill. When I’d said to Elizabeth that the doctor was like a vampire, it had been half in jest, but now I was not so sure. Why would you collect someone’s blood?

“Would you like to look?” a voice said, and I jerked round with a start, to see Dr. Murnau emerging from his bedchamber, dressed for dinner.

“I am sorry for intruding, sir,” I said, but his gaunt face showed no signs of anger.

“You seem a curious lad,” he said. “Come here. Let me show you.”

Near the window was set up a very impressive microscope, the mirror angled to catch the light and illuminate the specimen.

On the tray was a glass slide, with a bright red smear in the center.

“This is Konrad’s blood,” I said.

“Please.” With his bony finger he gestured for me to look through the eyepiece.

I lowered my face and looked And was astounded. There was a living world before me. Rounded objects moved and collided. As I watched, some pinched in half and became two. Others clung to one another until one withered and died.

“This is all in his blood?” I said, terrified.

“Your blood wouldn’t look so dissimilar.”

“What are they all doing?”

“Ah.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll share my thoughts with all of you tonight.”

I said nothing, staring into the microscope. We were all hosts, it seemed, to countless millions of organisms, all with their own complicated intelligence.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” he said.

I nodded, still staring. The world was filled with mystery, and I wanted to discover all its secrets.

“Is his blood normal?” I asked.

“No.”

I looked up at him quickly. “Can you make it so?”

“That is a matter of further investigation,” he said. “And a matter for your father and me to discuss.”

“Of course,” I said, standing.

“In future, Victor, I’d rather you didn’t enter my laboratory unless I’m here. My equipment’s delicate. I’ll see you at dinner,” he said, and I realized I had been dismissed.

I returned to my room to dress.

“I believe that your son has a self-generated abnormality of the blood,” said Dr. Murnau.

It was after dinner. William and Ernest had been taken to the nursery by Justine, and the rest of the family had retired to the west sitting room. I glanced over at Elizabeth and Henry, then Mother and Father, and could tell they were all just as eager as I to hear what the strange doctor would say next.

“Blood is an incredible substance,” he explained as he accepted a glass of port from Father. “It’s no simple fluid. Think of it as a liquid metropolis! Thriving with activity!”

“What kind of activity?” Mother asked.

“The blood’s filled with what I call cells, Madame Frankenstein. Tiny, enclosed compartments-invisible to the naked eye-inside of which all sorts of important work is being done. The cells are like living machines, which go about their work completely without our knowledge or will.”

None of my tutors had ever been this excited about their subject. There was definitely something hypnotic about the way this bizarre, cadaverous doctor spoke-I was hanging on his every word, desperate to understand more about the microscopic world I’d glimpsed earlier in his laboratory.

“There are so many of these cells,” he continued, “that a man could spend a lifetime observing them, and still not understand them all. What I do know is this: Almost all of these cells do some vital work to keep the body healthy. Some carry nutrients. Some fight disease. Some send messages that spur other cells into action.” He paused to push his glasses back up his nose. “Sometimes, though, the body, through some freak of nature, produces cells designed to destroy itself.”

“Destroy itself?” murmured Elizabeth.

It was a frightening idea, to think that our own bodies could turn against us.

“In Konrad’s blood,” Dr. Murnau went on, “I’ve identified many rogue cells making mischief, and I believe these have been the cause of his wasting fever.”

Making mischief. He made it sound no more serious than a children’s game.

“Is there a cure?” Mother asked, her fingers tight around her goblet.

Dr. Murnau cleared his throat. “The disease is rare, but I’ve had some early success developing a treatment.”

I noticed he did not say “cure”-but I remained silent.

“With the samples I’ve taken,” the doctor said, “I’m hoping to produce a compound that will attack these rogue cells.”

“Have you any idea how long this will take?” Father asked.

“I’ll need two or three more days to prepare. As for the treatment itself, it will take place over a week, as I inject the medicine into his veins.”

“Into his veins?” I said, remembering all those needles with a shudder.

“It’s the most direct route,” said Dr. Murnau.

My parents looked at each other. Father took Mother’s hand and nodded.

“Very well, Doctor,” said Mother. “Please proceed with all possible speed.”

I wondered how great my parents’ confidence was in Murnau. Were they filled with hope? Or did they think his treatment no more reliable than a recipe from an alchemist’s book?

Three days later Konrad’s treatment began.

Beside his bed was a metal stand. Hanging from it, upside down, was a sealed glass flask. It was filled with some manner of clear fluid-the special medicine Dr. Murnau had concocted. From the flask’s rubber stopper snaked a long tube that joined a hollow-tipped needle snugly tied to my brother’s forearm. The serpent’s end of the needle pricked his flesh and entered one of his veins. The liquid, through some ingenious device, dripped slowly, entering his blood gradually, minute by minute, hour by hour.

Dr. Murnau had given my brother a potent sleeping draft.

For two days Konrad lay in bed, still and pale as death.

Tomorrow night, during the new moon, we would make our trip to the Sturmwald.